The Zanpakutos
by Lady-Silvanas
Summary: The list of some of the most powerful Zanpakutos in existence,there abilities, and description hopefully they will be use more in a Naruto Cross-over


**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Bleach Manga franchies, which if I did than the story would be a lot different. **

**Summary: I hope this help authors out there who are writing great stories but are missing some of the tools. These Zanpakuto will be great in the Naruto Universe in a Cross-Over I hope people will make use of them.**

**Kurosaki Ichigo**

Zangetsu (斬月, Moon Cutter or Cutting Moon): When Ichigo first becomes a Shinigami, his Zanpakutō is a standard looking katana, but oversized with an equally-oversized brown sheathe hung by a strap over his right shoulder. It has a rectangular bronze handguard with inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short ones. The handle is red with two light blue tassels on the end of the handle. The large size is due to the unfocused but immense amount of Ichigo's spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Nevertheless, it was powerful enough to subdue a Gillian-class Menos and lesser Hollows, completely blocking a Cero from the former. Byakuya Kuchiki cuts off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara subsequently slices it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to learn the name of his zanpakutō in order to release its true form.

The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a tall (about the height of Kenpachi Zaraki) 30 to 40-year-old man with unkempt facial hair and long ragged black hair. He dresses in tattered all black garbs with narrow sunglasses and a long flowing overcoat that flares out into ragged ends. Because of the spirit's appearance, Ichigo calls him "Old-man Zangetsu" (斬月のオッサン, Zangetsu no ossan) as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the "black-clothed man" (黒衣の男, kokui no otoko). Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal. While the inner world is one of tall skyscrapers, Zangetsu has stated to prefer more lush, natural surroundings like bright sunny skies and green forests. Zangetsu has displayed the ability to temporarily close fatal wounds during combat, though whether or not this is a unique ability is unclear, as it could be due to the massive amounts of spiritual energy, as demonstrated by Nnoitra Jiruga. Since first awakening his own Shinigami powers, Ichigo has had a strong connection to his Zanpakutō, as shown from how Zangetsu would regularly come to aid him with words of wisdom when Ichigo is in a difficult situation.

However, since Ichigo developed an inner Hollow (as a result from nearly becoming one while having his Shinigami powers restored), Zangetsu and the Hollow are both the source of Ichigo's power and share the same spirit body in Ichigo's inner world, the stronger presence retaining more control (and overall appearance) of their body; in which case, the spirit of Zangetsu takes the form of an all-white (clothes and being), somewhat deranged version of Shinigami Ichigo with a strong desire take control of Ichigo's body and power for himself.

Zangetsu's constant Shikai : The Shikai form of Zangetsu looks like an oversized elegant cleaver rather than a formal "katana". He has no crossguard and no proper hilt; what Ichigo holds is the cloth-wrapped tang. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.75 meters, and has a black blade with a silver edge. The cloth wrapping on the tang seems to react to Ichigo's will, changing length at a thought or twining about the blade in an impromptu sheath. When in combat, the cloth falls away when necessary, shrinking back to a manageable size. The cloth can also be used to swing the weapon like a flail and toss it at opponents for mid-range combat, but this is rarely done. The cloth also can be done to wrap up wounds, as Ichigo does during his fight with Ikkaku Madarame, but this is also done rarely. Ichigo has also on more than one occasion used Zangetsu's wide blade as a shield from incoming attacks. Unlike most Zanpakutō, which can be sealed into their original form, Zangetsu is always in its Shikai form. Yoruichi Shihōin has stated that his Zanpakutō is a full-time released form type because of Ichigo's vast but uncontrollable spiritual energy upon generation of it, implying that it is simply a type of Zanpakutō that without proper control of his spiritual energy, once in Shikai form, it remains in its said state.

Shikai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special ability is the Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer; "Piercer of Heaven" in the English anime), which fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of a crescent moon or in a shape of a wave. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times, but masters the technique later on when he discovers its name. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing the name of an attack increases its power greater than not knowing its name. The Getsuga Tenshō is a powerful technique with great force. While it is currently the only attack Ichigo knows from Zangetsu, Ichigo has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omnidirectional blast to knock away incoming attacks or slashing at the ground to upturn it and crush everything in its path. Ichigo can also keep Getsuga Tenshō within Zangetsu to augment his sword swings.

Zangetsu's Bankai form: Tensa ZangetsuBankai: Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, Heavenly Chain Moon Cutter or Heavenly Chain Cutting Moon): It is considered completely out of the ordinary for any Zanpakutō. Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's Bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daitō (Japanese long sword) with a black blade. The crossguard has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full", as in "full release"). Instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. In addition to his sword, Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining that is closed at his chest, then left to flare out into ragged ends, much like that of Zangetsu himself. Ichigo's initial inexperience with controlling his Bankai led to a serious drawback; the force of his compressed spiritual power caused all of his bones to crack, as stated by his inner Hollow, gradually decreasing his speed and power over time. This drawback has not been mentioned since its introduction, so it has (presumably) been overcome.

Bankai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special attack remains Getsuga Tenshō and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. When used with Zangetsu's Bankai, these potent blasts can become black with a red outline and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed. During Byakuya Kuchiki's fight with Ichigo, he refers to this attack as a "Kuroi Getsuga" (黒月牙; "Black Moon Fang"). This term simply refers to the darkened color of the attack, not its actual name. When used with his Bankai and Hollow mask in combination, Ichigo's tremendous speed allows him to move faster than the Getsuga Tenshō itself, allowing him to fire multiple blasts from different directions. The Kuroi Getsuga was first displayed by Ichigo's inner Hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner Hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner Hollow, this is no longer a problem. In fact it has come to a point where the red-outlined black energy of the Kuroi Getsuga emanates of Ichigo's body when his spiritual pressure is exerted, replacing his blue aura. It should also be noted that ever since Ichigo mastered his Vizard form, he produces a black aura with a red outline that surrounds him as he initiates Bankai, rather than a white aura that shoots high into the sky.

Physical Enhancement: As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's Bankai is a compression of his remarkable power, rather than a vast expansion as other Bankai are. This vastly compressed power enables to reach levels of physical and spiritual prowess most Shinigami would have their bodies give out at and cannot handle. It allows Ichigo to move at very high speeds exceeding those of flash steps, and gives him matching agility and reflexes, possibly equaling if not, surpassing Yoruichi's speed, allowing him to be undetectable to unfocused eyes.[9] Ichigo's Bankai also allows him to use his natural strength to its limits as shown from how effortlessly he blocked a punch from Yammy, an Espada known primarily for his immense strength. The Shunpo's speeds are also enhanced in this state, allowing him to use Flash Steps at a speed much greater than Byakuya Kuchiki's. His new speed is so great, that it also allows him to create dozens of tangible clones to confuse his opponent. In addition, his already immense spiritual energy has grandly and explosively increased, and now has a deep black spiritual energy with a crimson outline.

Enhanced Bankai Duration: Furthermore, the fact that all of his energy is "compressed" means that usage of his Bankai doesn't expel as much spiritual power as other Bankai from the point of activation; thus allowing him to use Tensa Zangetsu at a much longer duration than any other Bankai users of his level. With enough usage and acquired height, Ichigo can even appear as though he is flying.

**Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto**

Ryūjin Jakka (流刃若火; "Flowing Flame Blade" or "Flowing Sword, Young Fire"): His Zanpakutō is the oldest, most powerful fire type and has greater attack power than all other Zanpakutō in Soul Society.[51] In its sealed form, Ryūjin Jakka usually takes the appearance of a harmless wooden staff which can be used like a spear. At any time, Yamamoto can instantly remove that disguise, by peeling off the wood, to reveal its true form of a standard katana with a dark purple handle and a circular hand guard. Its power is so great that even the strongest of Shinigami are afraid of it even in its sealed form.

Number One: Nadegiri (撫で斬り, "Clean Sweep" or "Killing Several with One Sword Sweep"): This basic technique allows for a precision cut of extreme force and speed, it can casually slice through large, multi-story high opponents protected by steel skin. The opponent can be killed with one swift slash that they aren't even aware of until after it has taken place.[52]

Ryūjin Jakka : Its Shikai command is "Reduce All Creation to Ash" (万象一切灰燼と為せ, banshō issai kaijin to nase; "All things in the universe turn to ashes" in the English Dub).[53] The release of his Zanpakutō comes with an extreme release of spiritual pressure affecting all in the area, and can be felt for miles upon miles across all of Seireitei.

Shikai Special Ability: When released, Ryūjin Jakka's blade is engulfed into fire.[54] The aura of this weapon can disintegrate anything that Yamamoto waves the sword at, changing it into nothing more than ash and engulfing the surrounding landscape in a blazing firestorm.[55] Only powerful fighters such as Kyōraku and Ukitake can resist it, but even then only indirectly. Even in its Shikai, Ryūjin Jakka's power is enough to fight against the Shikai of two other captains simultaneously, both of whom had the reputation of being the strongest Captains in Soul Society while together.[56] Unlike other Zanpakutō shown so far, resealing Ryūjin Jakka does not deactivate any ability already used against an opponent, as seen when Yamamoto imprisons Aizen, Gin, and Kaname.[57] The flames created by Ryūjin Jakka can be controlled with great precision by Yamamoto to attack only the targets he chooses and he also has power over the intensity of the flames.[58]

Ryūjin Jakka's Jōkaku Enjō.Jōkaku Enjō (城郭炎上, "Fortress Blaze"): This ability creates an immense wall of flame that surrounds the target and then forms a huge contained sphere of flame in which to imprison enemies. It is shown to be immensely powerful as it was capable of imprisoning three Captain-level Shinigami (Aizen, Gin and Kaname) for a significant amount of time.[59]

**Aizen Sousuke**

Kyōka Suigetsu (鏡花水月, _Mirror Flower, Water Moon_): In its sealed form, it resembles a normal katana. The only decoration is the crossguard, which is a hexagon instead of a rectangle. The two sides parallel to the blade are long, whereas the four sides above and below the blade are shortened, making it into almost a diamond or prism-like shape. It has a green handle.

Shikai: The release command is "Shatter" (砕けろ, kudakero).[60] The name Kyōka Suigetsu hints at its illusionary properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things that can be seen but not held. It is a Chinese saying for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations.

Shikai Special Ability: Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai ability is Complete Hypnosis (完全催眠, kanzen saimin). [61] It controls the five senses to the point that it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and smell to be that of the enemy. The initiation condition for the hypnosis is to show the enemy the release of Kyōka Suigetsu. After seeing it just once, that person will completely succumb to the hypnosis. After that, every time it is released, that person will become Aizen's unwilling slave. Since the spell works when you see the ritual, those who can not see are consequently immune to the hypnosis.[62] When he turns off the hypnosis by force of will, the image shown melts away/shatters. Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware that they are under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence.[63] Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities make it a highly useful tool in combat, as Aizen can quickly create simple or complex illusions to deceive opponents. By creating a decoy of himself, or other illusions to distract his opponents, Aizen can hide his own movements and attack with impunity; his opponent, meanwhile, will remain focused on the illusion until it's too late to react.[64][65]

While the illusions Kyōka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful, they are not perfect towards those of considerable power and skill themselves; Captain Retsu Unohana was able to detect something was amiss with Aizen's fake corpse, even though she did not realize what until seeing Aizen alive.

**Urahara Kisuke**

Benihime (紅姫, Crimson Princess): has been described by Urahara as "not nice" as well as being one of the few known Zanpakutō with a female spirit. When sealed, Benihime takes the form of a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside Urahara's cane). Because it resides in a cane its hilt is still the handle of the cane, so it looks different from most Zanpakutō.[76] Flashbacks to when he served in the Gotei 13 shows that Benhime was originally sealed in an ordinary katana-form with a flower-shaped guard and black handle. The shaft of the cane is able to separate a soul from a body, much like Rukia Kuchiki's glove.[77]

Benihime in its Shikai : The Shikai command of Benihime is "Awaken" (起きろ, okiro). In its Shikai, its hilt is a little on the longer side, mostly because the last two or three inches are bent at an angle. A crimson little tassel dangles off the end. Instead of a crossguard, there is a red decorative string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on one side and a folded paper decoration on the other. A U-shaped decoration covers the first three or four inches of blade, with a flower petal design right as it meets the string-crossguard. Benihime's blade is straight and slim, though somewhat short, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of being tapered to a point.[78]

Shikai Special Ability: Its abilities apparently lies in the manipulation of blood, and is believed to possess multiple abilities. The abilities are activated by the verbal command "Sing" (啼け, nake; "Scream" in the English dub).[79][80] There are only two abilities that have been shown:

Chikasumi no no Tate (血霞の盾, Blood Mist Shield): Benihime's defensive ability forms an oval-shaped "blood mist shield" in front of Urahara. The barrier is able to block Ichigo's first use of his Getsuga Tenshō while only slightly eroding, after which Urahara comments that he would have lost an arm were it not for the shield.[81]

Benihime's Unnamed Offensive 's yet unnamed offensive ability fires crimson-colored energy blasts. He is also shown to control these blasts, and can even change the intensity of them. Urahara was able to match Ichigo's improvised Getsuga Tenshō and easily cancel out Cero and Bala blasts from the Espada Yammy by striking it head-on with this attack after he was able to study the amount of power it took to use it.[82][83]

**Kuchiki Byakuya**

Senbonzakura (千本桜, "Thousand Cherry Blossoms,"; a reference to Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura): A regular katana, with a simple cross guard, which is a simple open frame, much like a four-pane window. It has a light blue handle.

Shikai: It is triggered by the command "Scatter" (散れ, chire).[103]

Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Senbonzakura's blade separates into a thousand slender, tiny blade fragments, which then fly away from the hilt, leaving only the sword's handle in Byakuya's hand. The release can be negated before it completes, such as when Yoruichi Shihōin wrapped the blade in cloth during Byakuya's short battle with Ichigo. However, if the release completes itself, then Senbonzakura is rendered near-unstoppable. While the blades are supposedly too small to see normally, they reflect light in such a way as to appear as cherry blossom petals. By swinging Senbonzakura's hilt, Byakuya can control the blade fragments at will, allowing him to shred opponents at a distance and break through almost any defense.[104]

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi's releaseBankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (千本桜景厳, Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms): is essentially a much larger version of Senbonzakura's Shikai. To activate it, Byakuya needs to drop his sword straight down. The sword phases into the ground, as though it were a pool of water. Energy ripples expand out, turning the surrounding area dark, and within seconds, two rows of a thousand giant blades rise up from the ground. Those thousand swords then scatter and countless flying blades pierce the enemy. No one knows the exact number of blades generated and no one can see the movements of those blades or even dodge them.[105] The number of blades is great enough that Byakuya can use them for defense as well as offense at the same time. He commonly forms them into large masses, designed to obliterate opponents instantaneously. As it moves through the air like torrents of waves, it gives the appearance of cherry blossoms flowing swiftly along the wind.[106] Byakuya's defensive use allows him to cover himself entirely in these tiny blades, and form a body shield.[107] Unlike his Shikai, his Bankai is entirely mentally controlled. While Byakuya can control the blades with his mind alone, using his hands allows him to do so more effectively, making the blades increase in speed three fold.[108] Like with his Shikai, its attack is triggered with the phrase Scatter.[109]

Bankai Special Ability: Byakuya's Bankai has several forms, achieved by arranging the blades in different patterns. Each form presents a different advantage, such as increasing offense at the expense of defense. This makes Senbonzakura Kageyoshi one of the most versatile Bankai in the series. These techniques are activated by saying the name of the technique, followed by the name of his Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

SenkeiSenkei (殲景, Massacre Scene; Viz: "annihilate"): The true form of Senbonzakura is seemingly created by his blood, which glows and turns into spiritual energy, mixing with the tiny blades of his Bankai. This unites the scattered petals into complete glowing swords, numbering in the thousands, that form four rows. These rows float just above the other, and circle around Byakuya and his opponent in a continuously moving, column-like array. It abandons defense in favor of a concentrated offense. Though visually menacing, this form is not meant for attack from all sides; rather, it is to concentrate his power into fewer blades, thus increasing his attack power. While Byakuya can mentally control these swords as he does his regular blades, he commonly calls them to his hands for actual melee combat. When in his hand, they lose their glow, and take the form of his sealed Zanpakutō. While they seem solid in this state, the swords can just as easily dissipate back into the multitude of tiny blades that they are made of. It seems to take fewer blows from a Senkei blade to gravely injure an opponent than the multiple cuts needed from the unfocused Bankai. The Senkei also cages himself with his enemy, allowing neither combatant to move very far from each other, though the area is still large enough for maneuverability. The most effective use of the Senkei form is that it allows for use of all the swords at the same attack level, making it highly versatile as a way to effectively defeat an enemy unaware of the danger of the situation. It is extremely rare for him to use this ability, doing so only when he has sworn to cut down the opponent with his very own hands. Ichigo was the second being to ever witness the ability.[110][111]

GokeiGōkei (吭景, Pivotal Scene): This form increases the number of tiny blades immensely. It creates a spherical formation of over 100 million tiny blade fragments, which swirl around the opponent like a cloud. It then flies into them from every possible angle, leaving no blind spots and no possibility to escape. It then collapses on itself, obliterating the opponent. It was strong enough to completely obliterate a very large building from the inside out, and the resulting shockwave generated by the attack is so powerful that Byakuya himself has to Flash Step away (Byakuya is normally immune to the cutting effects of his own Bankai, evident by the fact that he could wield the swords generated by its Senkei formation with bare hands without cutting himself).[112][113]

HakuteikenShūkei (終景, Final Scene; Viz: "last sight"): This condenses each and every single one of his blades into a single, potent sword, drastically increasing its cutting power. The spiritual energy and pressure of this form released is immense. The blade appears bright white and its aura takes the form of a bird, earning it the name Hakuteiken (白帝剣, White Imperial Sword; Viz: "white emperor sword"). Pure white wings form on Byakuya's back, as well a halo-like circle, made of concentrated spiritual energy. It is unknown whether these wings are merely an aesthetic effect or if they can be used to fly. The blade in this form is dangerous enough to cause aggravated injuries in one single blow. Whether or not this form allows only one single attack or more is as yet unknown.[114]

**Kyoraku Shunsui**

Katen Kyōkotsu (花天狂骨; Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone): His Zanpakutō is unique in that it exists as two completely separate swords, existing as a daisho sword pair, consisting of a katana and a wakizashi. Their cross guards are rectangles, with the corners cut off, decorated by a pattern of cherry petals and lines, and each sport a dark-blue handle. He keeps them sheathed through his waist tie at his left side; although, during battle, the swords have been shown to be placed on both sides of his sash.

Shunsui's ShikaiShikai: Its Shikai command is "Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer" (花風紊れて花神啼き天風紊れて天魔嗤う, hana kaze midarete, kashin naki, tenpū midarete, tenma warau). Kyōraku sets the two blades against each other in a cross, then pulls before uttering the poem-like command. When the flash clears, Katen Kyōkotsu has become a pair of huge, heavily curved black Chinese scimitars, with silver edges. The hilt and cross guards of each are still the same as they were in Katen Kyōkotsu's sealed-form, but now sport long red tassels dangling from the end of each.[71]

Shikai Special Ability: Katen Kyōkotsu possesses the ability to manipulate wind, seemingly through the swing of the blades.[72]

Bushō Koma (不精独楽, Lazy Spinning Top): This technique causes tornado winds to flow from Katen Kyōkotsu to envelope the target.[73]

Takaoni (嶄鬼, Mountain Demon): This attack was also used in Shunsui's battle with Starrk, but Starrk's attack hid the nature of the attack, so what it does or how it works is completely unknown.[74]

**Hitsugaya Toshiro**

Hyōrinmaru (氷輪丸, "Ice Ring", idiomatically "Frozen Full Moon") When sealed, Hyōrinmaru looks like a normal katana with the exception of the guard, which is in the shape of a four-pointed bronze-colored star. It is about 1.4 meters long, making it as tall as Hitsugaya himself, preventing him from wearing it at the hip. He instead carries it on his back by his green sash over his right shoulder. Hitsugaya is one of four people that carry a Zanpakutō on their back, the others being Ichigo Kurosaki, Love Aikawa, and Hiyori Sarugaki. Hitsugaya's short stature and the blade's length (about 120cm long) explains the similar style. It is hung by his green sash over his right shoulder. Its hilt is light blue and sheath dark blue. The sheath completely dissolves when he draws his sword.

The spirit of Hyōrinmaru is that of a gigantic, icy blue, serpentine dragon with large wings and an echoing voice. Like Ichigo, Hitsugaya has had a close connection to his blade since first awakening his Shinigami powers. Before Tōshirō began training to control his Shinigami powers and leaking reiatsu, Hyōrinmaru would constantly appear in his dreams in an icy landscape (most likely Tōshirō's inner world) and call out to him, although Tōshirō was still not able to hear him.[56]

Hyōrinmaru is the strongest of all ice-element Zanpakutō in Soul Society. As such, Hitsuguya doesn't need water to be present in order for him to use its abilities.[57] Hitsugaya's control over Hyōrinmaru's power has been shown great enough to unleash some of its ice powers even in its sealed state.[58]

Shikai Special : Hyōrinmaru's release command is "Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens" (霜天に坐せ, sōten ni zase; English dub: Reign over the Frosted Frozen Skies). In its Shikai, Hyōrinmaru extends slightly in length, and gains a crescent-shaped blade attached to its hilt by a long metal chain, which can extend greatly if necessary by force of will. The chain itself can be used as an attack or to entangle a target.[59]

Shikai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. His slashes create an immense amount of spiritual power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. The dragon flies towards opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. Hyōrinmaru can create multiple ice dragons to attack an opponent from various angles.[60] Hitsugaya can also direct his slashes towards the ground and form a wave of ice which rushes over his opponents, overwhelming and freezing them.[61] The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it. The power it expels is so overwhelming that in Soul Society (where Hitsugaya is not placed under a limiter), its mere release affects the weather within the immediate vicinity, creating a thunderstorm or a blizzard.[62]

Tensō Jūrin (天相従臨): One of Hyōrinmaru's basic powers and its strongest. It allows him to control the weather in the immediate vicinity, or more specifically, control the water in the surrounding atmosphere. Hitsugaya states that this aspect of his powers is not fully mature and that he doesn't like to use it in Bankai mode, as he is unsure of whether he could control it and keep from killing everyone in the vicinity. The ability is usable in both Shikai and Bankai modes.[63]

Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's : Daiguren Hyōrinmaru (大紅蓮氷輪丸, Great Crimson Lotus Ice Ring, Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring): causes ice to flow from Hyōrinmaru onto Hitsugaya, starting at his right arm which ice forms onto in the shape of a dragon's head around sword hand, encasing it up to the hilt; which also changes from the shape of a four-pointed star to that of eight-pointed star. The ice continues forming up over his shoulders with two large wings sprouting from his back and a long tail. The ice forms down his left arm encasing his hand which ends in a claw. Hitsugaya's feet are encased in ice in a similar manner to his left hand which as they to end in claws.[64]

Bankai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru's Bankai has several special techniques.

Ryūsenka (竜霰花, Dragon Hail Flower): When Hitsugaya stabs his opponents, a huge burst of ice erupts from the point of contact between Hyōrinmaru and the opponents, encasing and freezing them. Hitsugaya can then proceed to shatter the ice and his opponent with it.[65]

Sennen Hyōrō (千年氷牢, Thousand Years' Ice Prison): Hitsugaya creates many ice pillars which encircle him and his enemy. At his command (when he turns his sword 90 degrees counter-clockwise), these pillars then move towards the enemy, enveloping and crushing it. Though this technique is very powerful, Hitsugaya speculates that it takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, and therefore the distraction of his enemy is crucial in successfully completing this attack. [66]

Shield of Ice Wings: Hitsugaya is capable of wrapping his wings around himself like a sphere protecting him from any attacks.[67]

Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Ice Dragon: Hitsugaya can release a more powerful form of his Shikai attack during Bankai. Instead of creating just a dragon's head attached to a long serpentine tail of ice, Hitsugaya can create a full-fledged dragon with wings matching his own, which can fly independently and encircle his opponents, constricting and crushing before biting them. [68]

Bankai Regeneration: During earlier appearances of his Bankai, three flowers of ice used to form floating behind him, each consisted of four purple petals shaped like diamonds.[69] These petals melted away petal by petal as Hitsugaya's battle with the Arrancar Shawlong Kūfang progressed, leading his opponent to speculate that Hitsugaya's Bankai will fade when all twelve petals disappear, assuming that the captain's Bankai was incomplete due to his young age. But he has since surpassed this "stage" as shown during his battle with Luppi (the sixth Espada for a time), where he states that as long as there is water in the surrounding area or atmosphere, his Bankai can regenerate itself indefinitely [70] It should be noted that in his most recent battle with Harribel that the petals have returned with the petals still fading away as he fights.[71]

Ice Clone: Once per activation of his Bankai, Tōshirō is able to create and shape a large amount of ice into his exact likeness. It is very life-like as it can appear to bleed. It has yet to be revealed the exact circumstances that limit the use of this ability to one use.[72]

Guncho Tsurara (群鳥氷柱, Icicle Flock): Hitsugaya can transform water into ice and then swing his Zanpakutō in an arc which fires an array of ice daggers at his target.[73]

Hyōten Hyakkasō (氷天百華葬, Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral): This ability is rarely used by Hitsugaya and only is produced under his Tensō Jūrin power. The ability opens up a huge hole in the clouds through which a large amount of snow falls down on to his opponent. Whoever the snow touches begins to sprout ice flowers all over, which instantly freezes them in a pillar of ice. When the last of the 100 petals falls, the life of the one who touched it will be over.

**Muguruma Kensei**

Tachikaze (断地風, Earth-Severing Wind): When sealed, it is shown as a short katana with a rectangular guard in an 'H' shape and white hilt weaving.

Tachikaze's Energy BlastShikai: Kensei's Shikai is triggered by the command Blow it Away (吹っ飛ばせ, futtobase) in which air currents swirl around Kensei in a circle up to his Tachikaze. It then transforms into a survival/combat knife with a black guard and small ring on the hilt's blunt edge. He commonly keeps this released form active rather than sealed and keeps it in the pocket of his cargo pants.

Kensei destroys a huge Hollow with Tachikaze's Air Special Ability: In this form, Kensei has demonstrated the ability to manipulate wind while mixing it with his spiritual energy for devastating effects. In the video games, his fighting style resembles that of Western boxing combined with Tachikaze.

Air Blades: Making slashes allows him to release transparent blades of wind to cut enemies from a distance. It appears to be extremely powerful, easily severing and killing a giant hollow.

Energy Blast: Kensei charges spiritual energy in Tachikaze and fires white energy blasts from his hand with extreme force. This blast is quite devastating as it was shown blowing off the arm of Ichigo's hollow form.

**Ukitake Jushiro**

Sōgyo no Kotowari (双魚理, Truth of Pisces): Ukitake's Zanpakutō resembles an average katana with a rectangular bronze cross guard and dark red handle.

Ukitake's ShikaiShikai: Its Shikai command is "All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade" (波悉く我が盾となれ雷悉く我が刃となれ, nami kotogotoku waga tate to nare, ikazuchi kotogotoku waga yaiba to nare). Once he completes the incantation, he grasps the single blade with two hands. The blade then transforms slowly and begins to form two blades, as the blades peel apart, a large red rope-like chain at the base of the hilt lengthens and silver metal square charms attached to the chain begin to fall until all five present themselves. The blade is now somewhat thinner than the normal Zanpakutō and the cross guard now extends up the blade for about 15 cm. Up 25 cm from where the cross guard is, there is a 45 degree cut on the inside of the blade where a second blade is jutting back down and parallel to the main blade. With the edge of the blade facing inward instead of outward, the blade looks very artistic and rather difficult to handle, only further proving just how skilled a swordsman Ukitake must be to have mastered such a uniquely designed weapon.[58]

Sōgyo no Kotowari's Special Special Ability: Sōgyo no Kotowari is able to absorb an opponent's energy attacks through his left sword and directs the attack through the connecting rope where the five charms on the rope accelerate the attack faster than it was originally fired and reverses its original course firing the same attack from his right sword, making it much more difficult for the opponent to dodge. The entire process happens so fast that the attack looks as if it originally came from Sōgyo no Kotowari.[59]

**Kuchiki Rukia**

Sode no Shirayuki (袖白雪, Sleeve of the White Snow): A normal katana with a rectangular tsuba with inward-curved edges and reddish-brown handle.

Shikai: Its Shikai command is "Dance" (舞え, mae). Rukia holds her Zanpakutō out in front of her and turns it in a circle counter-clockwise. While she is turning it, the blade, hilt and crossguard turn completely white. The tsuba becomes a hollow snowflake-like circle and a white ribbon forms from the pommel from the end of the handle. Sode no Shirayuki is regarded as one of the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society. The transformation comes along with a rush of cold air in all directions and can potentially cause a cold fog to descend upon the area.

Shikai Special Ability: Sode no Shirayuki has control over ice, rather fitting for her cold and icy demeanor, much like Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru, but uses it in a different manner. Like Kaname Tōsen's Suzumushi and Kisuke Urahara's Benihime, Sode no Shirayuki possesses more than one ability in Shikai.[7]Sode no Shirayuki's abilities are labeled as "dances" by Rukia.

First Dance, White MoonSome no mai, Tsukishiro (初の舞・月白, First Dance, White Moon): Rukia calls out the name of the dance while holding her Zanpakutō upside down. The blade glows and then she makes a slashing motion when her target is in position. When she does this, a large ice circle forms around her intended target which freezes everything that touches it. The circle not only freezes the ground but everything within the circle's influence including anything above it up in the air, creating an extending pillar of light that then freezes all within in the circle. Shortly after being frozen, the victim then shatters along with the ice. Rukia appears to be able to control the size of the circle at will.

Second Dance, White RippleTsugi no mai, Hakuren (次の舞・白漣, Next Dance, White Ripple): Rukia calls out the name of the dance, and punctures the ground once creating a large ice circle similar to the first dance, then she punctures the ground in front of her four times in a semi circle. She takes a battle stance as the ice particles begin to flow up from the protrusions she made in the ground. They build up and then fires toward the target in a massive, powerful pure-white wave of ice from Sode no Shirayuki's blade, in turn encasing the target in a block of ice.

Third Dance, White SwordSan no mai, Shirafune (参の舞・白刀, Third Dance, White Sword): Rukia calls out the name of the dance, which allows her to reforge her Zanpakutō with ice particles if it is broken, piercing through objects in its path. After piercing its target, it continues to freeze any surrounding objects, including the battlefield.

**Abarai Renji**

Zabimaru (蛇尾丸, Snake Tail): Renji's zanpakutō is one of the rare cases whose spirit is actually seen, the other being Ichigo's and Hitsugaya's. Zabimaru is a nue (Japanese chimera in the form of a baboon with a snake's head for a tail), hence his name. Zabimaru has tattoos similar to Renjis' tattoos. Renji is very fond of his Zanpakutō, to the point where he easily gets agitated upon learning that it's gone or stolen without his knowledge. Zabimaru's spirit is portrayed as battle-loving and proud, similar in personality to Renji. It insisted on fighting Zangetsu again after losing, confident that it could succeed on the second attempt. Both the snake and baboon are capable of speaking (albeit usually in a finishing-each-other's-sentences manner), though the baboon is usually the more dominant one. The snake seems to be the more violent of the pair. Zabimaru's sealed form resembles a typical katana. It has a rectangular bronze handguard with a jagged design to it and a red handle and sheath.

In an omake, Renji has shown some interest in having Mayuri give Zabimaru a gender change. How Zabimaru feels about this is unknown.

Zabimaru's ShikaiShikai: Zabimaru's Shikai command is "Howl" (咆えろ, hoero; "Roar" in the English dub). In its Shikai, Zabimaru transforms into an even longer 6-part segmented blade; each segment is wider than the one preceding it from the hilt with 2 pick-like protrusions on the front and back of each segment, with the ones on the front much longer than the ones at the back.[11] The segments are connected by a stretchable thread, making Zabimaru more useful as a whip than an actual sword, though it can serve as a regular sword just as easily, thanks to Renji's swordsmanship. Zabimaru's guard and handle pretty much remain the same in its Shikai release. While Zabimaru can be stretched to incredible lengths in its whip form, Renji has a limit of three consecutive attacks before having to bring the segments of Zabimaru back together for recovery - which makes him fairly vulnerable during the time interval. To make up for this, Renji usually relies on Shunpo for evasion as he retrieves Zabimaru's segments. Renji's Shikai, while durable to an extent, can ultimately sustain serious damage the longer the fight drags on. Not that it can't withstand dangerously prolonged combat, but even it has limits in enduring high-level attacks that were conducted by either the enemy or by Renji himself. Because of these many drawbacks, Renji states that out of all the other Zanpakutō wielded by the other Lieutenant Shinigami, Zabimaru is the most difficult to master.

Shikai Special Ability: Zabimaru has a special technique rarely used known as:

Higa Zekkō (狒牙絶咬, Bite of a Broken Baboon's Fang): Renji can also use his spiritual power to separate the segments and surround an opponent with them, allowing him to execute a one-shot omni-directional attack, but states that it is damaging to Zabimaru and leaves Renji defenseless. However, Renji could have merely meant he didn't have enough spiritual energy to reform Zabimaru at the time as during the battle against Baishin, Renji attacked Baishin using the technique, and was seen afterwards with a complete (unbroken) Zabimaru.[12]

Zabimaru's Bankai: Hihiō ZabimaruBankai: Hihiō Zabimaru (狒狒王蛇尾丸, Baboon King Snake Tail): transforms Zabimaru into a massive version of its Shikai form resembling a skeleton of a snake. Zabimaru gains many more segments, which are much larger resembling a mix between a snakes vertebral column and the pick-like protrusions of his Shikai segments, and it also gains a snake-like head about the size of a small car. Renji is also slightly transformed, gaining a fur cowl around his neck. The cowl appears to be the fur of an ape and thus, the ape's skull could be seen over Renji's left shoulder while the rest of the fur extends to cover his right arm. Zabimaru itself, in Bankai form, does not literally "cut;" Renji usually catches his opponent with the snake-head of his weapon and smashes his opponent into the ground with it. The head has also proven capable of inflicting heavy damage through biting.

Bankai Special Ability: Zabimaru also gains special techniques when in Bankai form such as:

Bankai Reconstitution: Unlike its Shikai, Zabimaru's segments are held together by Renji's spiritual power, allowing him to separate and reattach them at will. The segments themselves are extremely tough, making it extremely difficult to destroy Hihiō Zabimaru. Even if a segment is damaged, knocked off, or even destroyed, Renji can simply detach it and reform (or reconstitute) Zabimaru.

Hikōtsu TaihōHikōtsu Taihō (狒骨大砲, Baboon Bone Cannon) after Renji becomes more adept with using his Bankai. The technique fires a dense blast of concentrated spiritual energy from Zabimaru's mouth. Unfortunately, the technique costs a substantial amount of energy from Renji which usually causes an aftermath that breaks the segments out of formation however in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc Renji attacked Byakuya using the technique, and was seen afterwards with a complete (unbroken) Zabimaru.

Enhanced Higa Zekkō: He can also use a much more powerful version of Higa Zekkō, where all the segments detach, glow and sharpen using spiritual energy. Surrounding an opponent to execute a omni-directional attack of blades of spiritual energy. After use of this attack Hihiō Zabimaru reconstitutes itself.

**Ichimaru Gin**

Shinsō (神鎗, Divine Spear; Viz: Sacred Spear): It looks like a ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".

Shinsō impaling several : It is triggered by the phrase "Shoot to Kill" (射殺せ, Ikorose). In the English Dub, however, he uses a command related to piercing/stabbing and ends the phrase with a personal pronoun (him, her, it) defining who he wants to hit.

Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. In addition, Gin can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.

**Soifon**

Suzumebachi (雀蜂, Hornet): In its sealed form, it resembles a wakizashi with a yellow hilt reminiscent of a Chinese dao. It is kept sheathed horizontally behind Soifon's lower back hanging by a rope.

Suzumebachi's : triggered by the command "Sting all Enemies to Death" (尽敵螫殺, Jinteki Shakusetsu; Viz: "Spider enemy's killing strike")[52]. Grasping onto Suzumebachi with her right hand, the entire sword will glow white and shrink in size. When the emitting glow dies off, it is revealed that Suzumebachi has now taken on the form of an accessory. Covering Soifon's right wrist is a gold gauntlet with a small chain linking to a large, thick "stinger" on Soifon's middle finger. The cone-like shaped "stinger" extends at a length about twice as far as the normal extension of the finger, allowing Soifon's striking distance to increase slightly. Ornately decorated in gold and black, the Shikai is fitting of its name, as the pattern and shapes resemble that of a hornet.[53] In this form, Suzumebachi is still capable of holding its own against a opponents sword attacks, blocking with the "stinger" as well as striking and even blocking incoming attacks with the gauntlet portion.

Soifon explaining the mechanics behind Ggio Vega's Special Ability: Totally integrated into her natural abilities with Flash Steps, Suzumebachi's abilities indeed prove deadly.

Nigeki Kessatsu (弐撃決殺, death in two steps) As its first step, Soifon stabs her enemy with Suzumebachi's blade. Not only leaving a rather deep wound, the attack leaves a butterfly-shaped stamp on the user's body. Spreading from the center of the wound, known as Hōmonka (蜂紋華, hornet's crest), this stamp becomes the target of Soifon's second attack. If struck in this same spot that was hit the first time, the person will inevitably die and thus illustrate "Death in Two Steps."[54] The crests are maintained by Soifon's will and are impossible to remove unless she wills it; when Yoruichi was still running the Onmitsukidō, Soifon could only maintain the crests for half an hour.[55] The effect of the poisons reaction time takes slightly longer for those who have enhanced power.[56] Soifon explains at one point that the mechanics behind the ability are not based on being hit on the same spot on the skin, but rather when Suzumebachi pierces the exact same spot internally from any side of the body. This shows that Suzumebachi's ability takes effect not through point of entry but rather point of actual surface contact.[57] It is revealed that this ability works by use of a poison, when entered into a system it completely spreads in a matter of minutes if not seconds leaving no trace of a body behind.[58]

Counter-Poison: Suzumebachi's Nigeki kessatsu ability is caused by a type of venom it secretes, which acts as a counter-poison, if she stabs herself with it.[59]

Jakuhō Raikōben - Soifon's : Jakuhō Raikōben (雀蜂雷公鞭, Hornet Thunder Whip): Its appearance is that of a protective armor that encases Soifon's entire right arm and comes all the way above her shoulder to form a face shield[60] that she uses to cover the right side of her face.[61] The casing comes off and reveals a weapon with the similar make of a missile attached to a base.[62] Before she activated her Bankai, Soifon wrapped a heavy metal sash (Ginjōhan)[63] around the building she stood on,[64] in preparation for the attack's massive recoil and the resulting powerful explosion. She uses her Bankai so rarely that it has remained largely unseen by the members of Soul Society; even her own Lieutenant comments on having never seen it before.[65] Soifon explains that she would prefer not to use her Bankai. She believes that it offends her pride as a Covert Ops agent, as "It's too large to hide, too heavy to move, and its attack is too flashy for assassination."[66]

**Shihoin Yoruichi**

**Shunkō** (瞬閧, _Flash Cry_): An advanced technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and Kidō energy to explosively increase a Shinigami's offensive capabilities. A high-pressured Kidō surges throughout the user's body, enhancing their arms and legs for battle. The Kidō itself can also be controlled and fired at opponents from the body.[56] Shunkō first appeared being used by Captain Soifon in her fight against her old master, Yoruichi Shihōin. Soifon states she invented the technique of combining Kidō and Hakuda so recently that she had no experience with it in battle, let alone enough time to give it a name. Yoruichi, however, reveals Shunkō is the technique's name, and that she invented and learnt the ability long before Soifon. The keisen uniform has no back or sleeves because the fabric will rip apart when the user's back and arms are filled with Kidō. Though Yoruichi's Shunkō is perfected.

**Hanki** (反鬼, _Reverse Demon_): This technique is an ability Yoruichi used during Shunkō, which nullifies an opponent's Kidō by hitting it with a Kidō of perfectly opposite speed and energy. The ability can even neutralize an opponent's movements. (Somewhat erroneously named _Hanki Sōsai_ in the Viz translation, as _sōsai_ (相殺) means "mutual cancellation", referring to the ability's effect.)


End file.
